


Rumbled

by JohnAmendAll



Category: Doctor Who & Related Fandoms
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-09-30
Updated: 2013-09-30
Packaged: 2017-12-28 01:50:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/986233
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JohnAmendAll/pseuds/JohnAmendAll
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Act like you own the place. Never fails." Well, hardly ever.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Rumbled

Rose emerged from Aldwych tube station at the Doctor's heels, and felt the usual moment of disorientation as it was brought home to her, for the thousandth time, that this wasn't her Universe. In this case, what caught her attention was the building that confronted them: a cylinder of tinted glass with a cluster of airships moored at the top. From her research she knew its official name was the Foster Building, and Londoners inevitably referred to it as the Drumstick. Seeing it close to for the first time, she forced herself to dismiss the nagging feeling that it shouldn't exist at all. 

As they approached the entrance, Rose briefly glimpsed her reflection in the panes of the building. Dressed in a severe business suit, with her hair tied back and plain-glass spectacles on her nose, she looked every inch the corporate executive. She'd posed as one often enough, on similar missions, that this was pretty much a matter of routine. Get in, sort out the rumours of stolen Cybus technology, and get out before anyone noticed what was happening. And if they _were_ spotted, where the Doctor was concerned a little bluffing would go a long way. 

She followed the Doctor through the revolving door, into a wedge-shaped atrium containing potted palms, a fountain, and a number of seats of luxurious appearance. Walking briskly and confidently, they made for the rear of the room, where the entrances of several lifts could be seen. 

"Oi!" a voice hollered at them. "Passes!" 

Rose turned in the direction of the voice. When she'd come in, she'd briefly noted the long, exquisitely-styled desk running down the right-hand side of the room, and the young blonde sitting behind it. Obviously she'd been given instructions to check all visitors for permission to enter. Still, that shouldn't present any major problems: she and the Doctor had come prepared. 

Maintaining her air of superiority, Rose strode over to the desk and looked down her nose at the girl. 

"Here you are," she said, holding up her psychic paper. She nudged the Doctor, who seemed momentarily distracted; he produced his own wallet and held it out. 

It didn't go down as well as Rose might have hoped. 

"Are you having a laugh?" the receptionist asked. "You seriously think I'll believe you're from Microsoft? When they went bust two years ago? And that dancing monkey bloke's been doing car insurance ads ever since just so no-one forgets!" 

_Blast,_ Rose thought. _Wrong Universe again. Time for Plan C._ She glanced across at the Doctor, expecting him to sweep the difficulty aside with an utterly irrelevant explanation delivered at breakneck speed. Instead, he was staring at the girl with an expression somewhere between disbelief and nausea. If the situation was to be retrieved, it was down to Rose. 

"Look," she said, feeling her poise and accent beginning to slip. "We're here to see Commissioner Devey. Your boss. And she won't be pleased if we've been kept waiting." 

"Bet you a sovereign if I call her, she'll say she's never heard of you." The receptionist's hand moved to a button on her desk. "If you're not out of here in ten seconds I'll be calling all right, but it'll be security. Trust me, you don't want to meet them. When they chuck people out, we've got a sweepstake on how many times they bounce." 

Rose gave her fellow- infiltrator a pleading look. "Doctor?" she whispered, hoping against hope that he could pull a rabbit out of his hat. 

He looked back at her, or through her. "Come on," he said, and headed meekly for the exit. 

⁂

"What the hell is the matter with you?" Rose hissed, as they passed through the revolving doors into the outside world. "You never give up." 

"I'm sorry, Rose," the Doctor replied dully. "I'm so sorry." 

"You were all right until we got in there and then..." Rose looked back through the tinted glass front of the building at the scene of their recent disaster. "That girl on reception. She saw straight through us. Not often that happens." 

"First time for everything." 

"You know, she's bright. Maybe Dad could headhunt her—" 

The Doctor's hands shot out and caught her by the shoulders. "No!" 

"What d'you mean, No?" Rose narrowed her eyes. "You know something about her, don't you?" 

The Doctor sighed. "Never met her before in my life." 

"But?" 

"I knew the other one of her, back in your Universe." 

"So what happened?" 

The Doctor took a deep breath, but when he spoke, all that he said was "The Daleks happened." 

Rose moved forward and made to hug the Doctor, but he gently stopped her. 

"And I'm not letting them happen to this one," the Doctor went on. "We keep out of her life, whatever it takes. Right?" 

Rose nodded, and determined to change the subject. "I think we've just about blown our cover here. Maybe we could go to the Richmond office instead?" 

"Tomorrow," the Doctor said. 

"OK. Tomorrow." Rose glanced around, awareness dawning that the longer they stood around, the more likely it was that someone would notice them. "Let's get out of here." 

⁂

"Anything happen while I was on lunch?" the receptionist's colleague asked, joining her at the desk. 

"Oh, hi, Karen. Yeah, only a couple of suspicious characters trying to talk their way in with forged passes. I'm going through the CCTV now... Here. This is them." 

"Cheeky beggars," Karen said, looking at the image of the Doctor and Rose on the monitor. "What do you think their game was?" 

"Dunno. Stick a keylogger on the computers, maybe? Or pinch a prototype? Anyway, I'm circulating their picture to all sites, just in case they try it on somewhere else." 

Karen grinned. "If they do, they won't know what's hit them." 

"Serve them right." With a triumphant flourish, the receptionist clicked the 'Send' button. "You don't try a stunt like that and get away with it. Not when you're up against Lucie Bleeding Miller."


End file.
